The Framed Accountant and the Cold Vice President's Doting Love
One mistake was all it took to bring Ren Mise's quiet life crashing down. Six years of honest work at Katsuragi Corporation's Accounting Department mean nothing when a forged approval log bearing his ID surfaces—thirty million yen, funneled through a system he never had the authority to touch. With no way to prove his innocence and whispers spreading through the office like wildfire, Ren finds himself on the verge of resigning. But just as he's ready to give up, the executive elevator doors slid
The Framed Accountant and the Cold Vice President's Doting Love - Boardroom Reversal—An Eternal Vow
Katsuragi Tower, thirty-fifth floor. The executive boardroom — the "Katsuragi Boardroom."
Wood paneling stretched across the entire wall, drinking in the morning light. Twenty deep-colored leather chairs surrounded the oval table. Beyond the windows, the towers of Minato stood quietly as always.
Mise Ren stood in the doorway.
Serious black hair, cut short. Clear brown eyes. His hundred-and-seventy-centimeter frame was wrapped in a cheap suit. A small mole behind his left ear. His fingertips were slightly red — a habit from constantly flipping through his notebook.
(Today, it ends.)
Ren clutched the USB drive against his chest.
KFN — Katsuragi Finance Network. The core system for expense processing. The backup data of its overwrite logs. Proof that Kurabashi Atsushi's ID had been used late at night from a terminal other than the one with legitimate approval authority, and that the log dates had been tampered with.
Everything was in this tiny drive.
"You're nervous."
The man beside him spoke quietly.
Himuro Rei. Thirty-four years old. Silver-tinged dark gray hair slicked back, eyes the cold blue-gray of ice. A small scar at the tail of his left eyebrow. His hundred-and-eighty-five-centimeter frame was wrapped in a black suit. Vice President of Katsuragi Corporation. The man feared throughout the company as the "Ice Vice President."
"...I'm fine. Because you're here with me, Himuro-san."
Ren answered in a trembling voice.
The truth was, he was terrified. His legs were shaking. His palms were sweating. His heart was pounding so hard he could feel it.
But Himuro was beside him.
That alone kept Ren standing.
Himuro's large hand settled on Ren's shoulder.
"It's all right. I'm here."
The warmth of that hand stilled Ren's trembling, just a little.
"...Yes."
Ren drew a deep breath.
—Click.
The heavy door swung open from the inside.
"Enter."
A low, intimidating voice.
At the head of the oval table in the center of the boardroom sat Katsuragi Ryuichi.
A short, squared-off cut mixed with white. Sharp black eyes. A large mole on his right cheek. A navy three-piece suit. Fifty-six years old, Senior Managing Director. A man who carried the blood of the founding Katsuragi family.
Directors lined the table to either side of him. Ten in all. Every one of them stared at Ren and Himuro with rigid expressions.
Ren stepped into the room alongside Himuro.
The air was heavy.
"This extraordinary board meeting is now convened."
Katsuragi rose slowly.
"The agenda is the disciplinary dismissal of Accounting Department employee Mise Ren, and the matter of criminal prosecution."
Ren's chest tightened.
(Criminal prosecution...)
The weight of the word nearly plunged his vision into darkness for an instant.
But.
Beside him, Himuro didn't move a muscle.
Seeing that profile, Ren straightened his back.
"Mise Ren unlawfully used KFN approval authority and embezzled thirty million yen. The evidence is his own ID, left in the approval logs. There can be no talking his way out of this now."
Katsuragi showed the documents in his hand to the directors.
"Accordingly, I wish this board to resolve on Mise Ren's disciplinary dismissal and criminal prosecution. Any objections?"
Silence.
The directors exchanged glances.
No one said a word.
Ren's heart hammered.
(At this rate, it'll be decided.)
That was when it happened.
"I have an objection."
Himuro's voice rang through the boardroom — quiet, yet sharp.
Every gaze snapped to him.
Himuro stepped forward.
"Director Katsuragi. That agenda is fundamentally wrong."
"What?"
Katsuragi's eyebrow twitched.
"Mise Ren did not embezzle anything. The real culprit is someone else."
Murmurs rippled through the room.
The directors shifted uneasily.
"What nonsense is this! The evidence is all here! Mise Ren's ID is in the approval logs!"
Katsuragi's voice grew louder.
"And what if those logs were forged?"
Himuro's blue-gray eyes pierced through Katsuragi.
"...What?"
"Mise."
Himuro turned to Ren.
Ren, heart pounding, stepped forward.
His hands were shaking.
But his feet carried him forward, steady.
"...Yes. There is something I would like to show everyone."
Ren held up the USB drive.
"This is backup data of KFN's overwrite logs."
The directors stirred.
"KFN's approval logs are retained for three years, but they have a vulnerability that allows overwriting. This embezzlement exploited that vulnerability."
Ren connected the USB drive to the large wall screen.
The display lit up.
"Please look. This is expense data processed last Friday. In the approver field, Kurabashi Atsushi-san's ID is recorded."
The data appeared on the screen.
"Kurabashi-san is a senior employee in Accounting, but he doesn't hold approval authority. Yet his ID remains in the approver field."
Ren's voice grew clearer, bit by bit.
"Furthermore, look at this data's terminal identification number. The approval was made from a terminal different from the desktop Kurabashi-san normally uses."
The screen switched.
"And this is decisive. The interval between the approval timestamp and the processing timestamp is too short. Normally, at least several hours should pass between application and approval. Under Accounting Department rules, nothing can go to processing until Department Head Saeki Yasuo gives final approval."
Ren enlarged a portion of the screen.
"This data was built with processing as a foregone conclusion from the start. On top of that, the log date has been overwritten. The date before the overwrite was — one-twelve in the middle of the night. Proof that Kurabashi-san's ID was used late at night, from a different terminal."
A heavy silence fell over the boardroom.
The directors looked back and forth between the screen and Ren.
"...So what are you trying to say?"
Katsuragi's voice dropped low.
"The one who embezzled was Kurabashi Atsushi-san. And he tried to pin the crime on me."
Ren looked straight at Katsuragi.
"Forgery!! Data like that can be fabricated after the fact, any number of ways!"
Katsuragi slammed the table.
A heavy thud.
"Then let's ask Kurabashi himself."
Himuro spoke quietly.
Katsuragi's face froze for an instant.
"...What?"
Himuro turned his gaze to the boardroom entrance.
"Enter."
The door opened.
Kurabashi Atsushi appeared.
Thirty-four years old. At first glance gentle, with a kind smile for everyone. The senior who had taught Ren his work so carefully when Ren first joined. That Kurabashi now stood there, face ashen.
A suited man flanked him on each side. Himuro's secretary, Todo Misaki, waited behind them.
"...K-Kurabashi."
Katsuragi's voice trembled faintly.
Kurabashi walked to the center of the boardroom, head down.
His steps were unsteady.
"Kurabashi Atsushi. As a member of the Accounting Department, you abused KFN approval authority and embezzled thirty million yen. Is that not correct?"
Himuro's voice fell coldly.
Kurabashi said nothing.
"And you pinned that crime on your junior, Mise Ren. Is that not correct?"
Kurabashi's shoulders trembled in small spasms.
"The evidence is all here. If you speak honestly now, there is room for leniency."
Kurabashi slowly raised his head.
His eyes were bright red.
"...I'm sorry."
A small voice.
"All of it... I did all of it."
A stir ran through the boardroom.
"I abused KFN approval authority and embezzled thirty million yen. And I tried to pin that crime on Mise-kun... on Mise."
Kurabashi's voice shook.
"But I didn't do it alone."
Kurabashi raised his face.
His gaze turned toward Katsuragi.
"All of it... was ordered by Director Katsuragi."
For an instant, the air stopped.
"In exchange for paying off my debts, he told me to frame Mise. To eliminate an obstacle in his bid for the vice presidency..."
Kurabashi's confession echoed through the boardroom.
"Y-you bastard!! What are you saying!!"
Katsuragi shot to his feet.
His chair toppled backward.
"You liar! You mean to trap me! Who put you up to this! Himuro!?"
Katsuragi's face was flushed bright red. The mole on his right cheek quivered with rage.
"Director Katsuragi. You're making a spectacle of yourself."
Himuro's voice was cold as ice.
"It's not just Kurabashi's testimony. KFN's overwrite logs, the terminal identification numbers, the late-night access records. Everything points to your involvement."
"Forgery! It's all forgery!"
"Then is this forgery too?"
Himuro drew a small recorder from his suit's inner pocket.
"Three days ago, in this boardroom, these are the words you said to me. 'Give up the vice presidency. Otherwise, Mise Ren's life is forfeit.'"
Himuro pressed play.
'Give up the vice presidency.'
Katsuragi's voice flowed through the boardroom.
'Otherwise, Mise Ren's life is forfeit.'
The color drained from Katsuragi's face.
"This is tantamount to conspiracy to kidnap, intimidation, and a confession of being the mastermind behind the embezzlement."
Himuro set the recorder on the table.
"What will you do, Director Katsuragi?"
Katsuragi stood frozen, unable to move.
The directors' gazes converged on him all at once.
Cold.
Far too cold.
"...Director Katsuragi. Would you care to explain this matter?"
An elderly director spoke quietly.
"Th-that's not... I know nothing..."
Katsuragi's voice grew feeble.
"Kurabashi Atsushi's testimony, the KFN logs, the recording. With this much evidence assembled, do you still intend to talk your way out?"
Another director pressed the attack coldly.
Katsuragi backed away.
"...Th-that's not it. This must be some mistake..."
"A mistake?"
Himuro took a step toward Katsuragi.
"You framed Mise Ren as an embezzler and tried to drive me from the vice presidency. To that end, you used Kurabashi Atsushi. Is that not correct?"
Himuro's blue-gray eyes pierced straight through Katsuragi.
"...I-I..."
Katsuragi's mouth worked soundlessly.
Searching for an excuse.
But nothing came out.
"Katsuragi Ryuichi. Your elitist ideology, your obsession with the founder's bloodline — I don't care about any of it. But laying a hand on Ren is the one thing I will never forgive."
Himuro's voice rang through the boardroom.
Katsuragi's face went paler by the second.
"...Enough."
Katsuragi lowered his head.
"I will resign as director. Let that settle it."
The boardroom fell silent.
Katsuragi slowly straightened his suit's collar.
"...Do try to be happy with that young upstart, then."
Leaving that parting shot, Katsuragi walked out of the boardroom.
The door closed.
Heavy silence.
Ren stared blankly at the closed door.
(Is it... over?)
"Mise."
Himuro's voice brought Ren back to himself.
"Kurabashi Atsushi will be handed over to the police. This matter is hereby concluded."
Himuro surveyed the directors.
"Any objections?"
No one said anything.
"...Good. Then I hereby formally recognize Mise Ren's innocence."
Himuro's voice echoed through the boardroom.
Deep in Ren's chest, something settled into place.
(My innocence... has been recognized.)
(Formally.)
(In a form that will remain on record.)
Ren's vision blurred.
Tears spilled over.
"...Thank you. Thank you so much."
Ren bowed deeply.
Tears fell to the floor.
"Ren."
Himuro placed a hand on Ren's shoulder.
"Well done. Your efforts changed everything."
"...It wasn't just me. It's because you were there, Himuro-san."
Ren wiped his tears and lifted his head.
Himuro's blue-gray eyes narrowed softly.
"...Yes. From now on, always, I'll be here."
Warmth spread through Ren's chest.
—Several hours later.
Katsuragi Tower, second basement floor. The employee cafeteria, "Grand Katsuragi."
A spacious cafeteria with a capacity of three hundred. The daily set meal, six hundred fifty yen. A place that swarmed with employees at lunchtime — now wrapped in a strange atmosphere.
Ren and Himuro sat side by side.
Around them, a great many employees.
Everyone watched the two of them from a distan
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